The Witches of Barrow Wood (3 page)

“Sam, you can go to Harry’s whenever you’re ready.”

“Cool! Thank you, Mum,” said Sam, jumping for joy and dashing down the stairs and out of the front door.

Clare smiled, amazed at how quickly children seemed to bounce back. She loved her boy to bits, and she knew that one day he would grow up to be an amazing man. Clare went into the front room to sit with John.

“Anything you’d like to do today, my love?” said Clare, already knowing the answer.

“Just relax and watch a little TV,” said John, lacking any real motivation.

“Okay, I think I’ll spend a little time in the garden, as it looks like it’s going to be a lovely day,” said Clare, a little disheartened, wishing that her husband had a little more go in him.

Sam arrived at Harry’s home and rapped on the door. Harry’s mother, Belinda, answered the door. Belinda was tall, with long, flowing brown hair. She had brown eyes and freckles to match. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white figure-hugging T-shirt.

“Good morning, Sam, how are you today?” asked Belinda, with a smile.

“I’m OK, thank you, Miss Barlow,” said Sam, running past her and up the stairs to see his best friend, Harry.

Belinda smiled as he ran past, and then she made her way back into the front room of the two-bedroom detached cottage. It had oak beams, stone flooring and a thatched roof, and was very similar to the one that Sam’s family lived in. Belinda wasn’t quite as tidy as Sam’s mother, Clare, and she also liked her own space, in which she liked to watch the soaps on television. Belinda sat down on a comfy chair and started to flick through the TV channels. She paused momentarily to pop a Pringle into her mouth, and then settled down to a re-run of
Doctor Dick
.

Sam pushed open Harry’s bedroom door to find him still in his pyjamas, sitting in his gaming chair, playing video games. Harry looked around and smiled, and then continued to play his game until he had reached a save point. Sam couldn’t help but notice Harry’s new Power Rangers wrist watch.

“Wow! Your watch is cool,” said Sam, green with envy.

“Thank you! My mum bought it for me yesterday. Which is your favourite Power Ranger?” said Harry, pulling back his brown bowl cut hair from his eyes, as it was desperately in need of cutting.

“I like the blue one, and red is my second favourite.”

“The red one is my favourite, and blue is my second,” said Harry, with a big smile across his little chubby cheeks.

Harry was also seven years old, and he had freckles and brown eyes like his mother. Harry loved to stay in and play video games and watch cartoons, but his very favourite thing was watching Power Rangers, as he was planning to be one when he grew up.

“What shall we do today, Sam?”

Sam sat there thinking, and then said, “Would you like to go into the wood?”

“Are there not witches and ghosts in that wood?” said Harry, looking a little worried.

“I don’t know, but I got lost in them yesterday and felt sick, and I’m sure someone helped me. When I got back up, there was a white ball of light that I followed, and it led me out of the wood.”

“Do you think it was a ghost?”

“My mum said that they’re not real,” said Sam.

“My mum said that they are,” said Harry, hoping that his friend would change his mind.

“We’ll only go in a little way – please?”

“Okay!” said Harry, reluctantly, “But if we get lost…”

Sam smiled, “We won’t – I promise.”

Harry got himself dressed in some blue jeans and a Power Rangers T-shirt, and then made his way downstairs to let his mum know that they were going out to play for a while. Belinda smiled and told him not to stray too far from the cottage. Harry beamed, and then he fetched Sam from his room and they made their way out of the cottage.

Once outside, they looked about to make sure that the coast was clear, and then started walking up the hill towards the edge of the wood. Harry walked close to Sam, and held onto his new watch to give himself confidence – of the heroic kind. They arrived at the entrance to Barrow Wood. Sam never hesitated and walked straight in. Harry hurried behind.

The two boys huddled closely as they made their way into the woodland. As they approached the first barrow, the air seemed stale. The smell of dead wood in the area was rife. Little Harry sensed that even the trees were watching, and he started to become nervous.

“Are you sure you want to go further, Sam? I don’t think it’s a good idea – you’ve heard the stories.”

“Everything’s fine, Harry – don’t worry!”

As they walked deeper into the wood, Sam noticed the barrow in which he had become sick. All of a sudden, the two boys heard a twig snap. Harry’s eyes opened wide and he became terrified. He shouted to Sam to run, and then turned on his toes and ran and ran until he eventually left the wood. Harry finally looked behind, and there was no sign of Sam. He shouted into the woodland, and his voice echoed through the trees. Harry was sure that he could hear whispers, and then ran as fast as he could once again, all the way home to tell his mother.

Sam felt frightened, but he was determined to find out whom or what had helped him the night before. He gently paced toward where he thought the noise had come from. Sam’s blood ran cold – he could see part of a black figure hidden behind the tree. He stood dead still and watched. His pulse raced, but he felt like he couldn’t move. He didn’t dare move, not even an inch. The dark figure moved slowly out from the tree, realising that it had been seen. Sam started to wish he had never come into the wood, as the figure he now witnessed before him was undoubtedly a witch.

The figure appeared to Sam as possibly female, short and stocky in build, pale green and ugly – very ugly. Her nose was crooked, her eyes bulbous and grey, and she wore a long, dirty black cloak with a large hood draped down her back. Her hair was long, black and matted, and she had large, razor-sharp looking fingernails that resembled the beak of a parrot. She hurried towards Sam.

Sam panicked suddenly and went to turn, but he caught his foot on a root and immediately fell to the ground. He closed his eyes and started to cry, wishing his mum was there to help him. A dark shadow appeared over Sam, and he sensed a presence, and the smell was putrid. He looked up, and the witch was bent over him, staring at him, just inches away from his face.

“Please don’t hurt me,” said Sam, tears coursing down his little face.

In a raspy voice, the witch said, “Stupid boy! Have you not heard the stories? Do you have a death wish?”

“I-I have, but….”

“Cat got your tongue?” said the witch, harshly, her bloodshot eyes bulging as she spoke, and spittle spraying over Sam as he sat, fearing for his life.

“Please don’t hurt me. I won’t tell a soul, I promise.”

The witch coughed violently and stared into Sam’s eyes, “Stupid boy! What would I want with you anyway – there’s not enough meat on you for a proper meal.”

“Don’t eat me, please don’t eat me.”

“Have you not listened to a word I have said? Don’t worry, you foolish boy, I will not harm you,” said the witch, shaking her head and feeling slightly irritated at having to make conversation.

“Thank you!” Sam paused. “Did you help me yesterday when I was sick?” said Sam, becoming curious about the horrid-looking witch.

“Don’t you ever stop talking?” said the witch, shaking her head. “Yes, yes, I didn’t want your rotting flesh ruining my woodland.”

“Thank you!” said Sam, his fear starting to subside a little.

The witch felt a tiniest bit of sympathy for the boy, and said, “Whatever, are we done now, boy? Can you leave me in peace?”

“I’m afraid I’m lost again. What is your name? My name is Sam. Are you a witch?”

The witch started to become irritated again. “Questions, questions,” she said. “My name is Eldrin, not that I would expect you to remember it, stupid boy! And I practice magic – dark magic! So I guess that makes me a witch,” said Eldrin, with a foul smile, baring her yellowish, tombstone-like teeth.

“I won’t forget your name – I promise!” said Sam, with a little smile.

Eldrin snapped, “You will do well to never step into these woods again, boy! These woods are cursed with unimaginable evil, and next time I may not be there to save you.”

“Are there more of you?”

“I can see there is only one way to make sure you don’t enter these woods again, boy.”

Eldrin was annoyed with herself for actually liking the boy. She couldn’t afford to be nice. People needed to fear the wood, or God knows what horrors would be unleashed. She grabbed the boy by his arm and led him at speed towards her home.

They arrived at her home, which lay beneath a large, old tree deep in the wood. There were large roots hiding the entrance from sight. Eldrin pointed at the soft earth around her home.

“It is there that my sisters rest – Lisbeth and Grotchin are their names. They were murderers, and evil beyond all comprehension. I hacked off their heads to put an end to them, but if their heads were reunited with the bodies, they would live again.”

Sam stood with his mouth wide open, staring at the earth where the witches were buried. He started to become scared and looked up at Eldrin in terror.

“Please, don’t hurt me – please!” said Sam.

Eldrin spat on the ground, “I won’t hurt you, boy! But you must promise me that you will never come into this wood again – ever!” said Eldrin, in her raspy voice.

“I promise!” said Sam, a little out of breath.

“Good boy! That wasn’t so hard, was it?” said Eldrin, patting little Sam’s head.

When she made contact with Sam’s head, she had visions of Sam getting beaten and bullied by his father. Eldrin looked at the boy and felt pity, for she had known bullying a long, long time ago, and it still angered her.

“Run along, boy, you should be getting home before it gets dark,” said Eldrin, as she cast a spell and created a white orb of light to lead Sam safely out of the wood.

“Thank you, Eldrin, I am sorry for any trouble that I caused you,” said Sam, with a smile, and then he trotted off, following the white globe of light out of the wood.

Eldrin breathed in deeply and looked about. She had been around a very long time, and she sensed trouble on the wind. She watched little Sam as he wandered off, and she smiled to herself. Unbeknownst to Sam, all that was required was one touch, and now Eldrin could tap into his thoughts whenever she wished.

Sam exited the wood and started to panic. It was dark, and he knew that he was going to be in a lot of trouble. He ran down the hill as fast as he could, all of the way home. When he arrived at the door, he took a minute to catch his breath, and then he closed his eyes and opened the door.

He opened his eyes and his mother was standing there with her arms folded, looking at Sam angrily. Sam could see that his mum had been crying, and understood that she had to be stern, for his own good. After all, he had been very naughty, wandering into the wood – again.

“Harry’s mum called me hours ago. Why did you disobey us and go into that wood again? It’s dangerous, Sam! What if something happened to you and we were unable to find you in time? Go up to your room!” said Clare, hating every second of telling her little boy off, but she had to, to protect him.

Sam ran up to his bedroom before his father could make an appearance. He wasted no time in getting into his pyjamas and turning out the light. He climbed into his bed and ducked under the covers, praying that the day would end and all would be well in the morning. He thought of Eldrin, and realised that he was very lucky that she wasn’t evil like her sisters. He was very lucky indeed to be home safe in his bed. He figured it was probably best not to tell his parents that he had met a real live witch. He then closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep in seconds.

Clare sat downstairs with John, discussing their little boy. John was adamant that he should be grounded, but Clare pitied her boy, and couldn’t stay angry at him for a second. They agreed to disagree and then both went upstairs to get ready for bed. Clare opened Sam’s door and peeped in, smiling when she saw her little boy was fast asleep in his bed. She said in a whisper that she loved him, and then went off to her room to get some sleep.

The next morning, Clare was up early. She had decided to get an early start to get some shopping done, and then was hoping to be able to enjoy the rest of her day doing anything that she so wished. She stopped by Sam’s bedroom. He was already awake and playing with his Action Man as if nothing had happened the evening before.

“Would you like anything from the shop, Sam?” said Clare, smiling.

“Yes, please, Mum – can I have a Kinder Surprise, please?” said Sam, beaming.

“Of course you can, but you must promise to behave yourself, little man.”

“I promise!” said Sam, with a cheeky smile.

Clare grabbed her handbag from the kitchen and then headed on out to do her shopping. John had just finished getting himself dressed, and decided to pay Sam a visit. John loved his boy, but he showed little patience for disobedience, and he intended to give Sam a few choice words.

John walked into Sam’s room. Sam was spread out on the floor, still happily playing with his action man. Sam looked up to notice his dad’s cold expression, so he put down his toy and sat looking up at his father, hoping that he wouldn’t be in too much trouble.

“So – what have you got to say for yourself?” said John, trying not to lose his temper.

“I’m sorry, Dad! I won’t go into the wood again,” said Sam, feeling a little worried.

“You bet you won’t! What possessed you to go into that wood, anyway? You’ve heard the stories.”

“I saw a witch, she helped me to find my way out, twice now,” said Sam, with a nervous smile.

John raised his voice. “First you disobey me by going into that wood – twice! And now you’re telling me lies. You are this close to getting a good hiding, boy,” said John, his blood starting to boil.

“I’m not lying, Daddy,” said Sam, in a timid voice.

“Stop lying to me, boy!” shouted John, at the top of his voice.